Friday Files

Jomini of the West thinks the Russians have switched to a defensive strategy in Ukraine and are trying to consolidate gains and work out their logistics. The Ukrainian's small, local counterattacks have slowed/stopped the Russian's advance. Well played. This blog believes the Russia/Ukraine war is entering its Yugoslavian phase. We expect sieges and bloody urban fighting. Prepare for the long slog. 

Awake adults shouldn't trust any information coming from the media about the Russian home front. They don't know. A thought on Russian civilian moral. We are comfortable saying that the Moscow/St. Petersburg urban elite and hipsters probably oppose the war. But what about the mechanic, the farmer, the day laborer, the truck driver, the coal miner? Our hunch is that they favor the war.

Once again, this blog can't help but notice that Russia has taken about half of Ukraine east of the Dnieper. The Ruskis also have a massive bridgehead on the west bank. It doesn't take a Napoleon to see Uke forces in the Donbass region are in a terrible position. Which is why we keep saying Russia is losing tactically but winning  strategically. Exit question: is this a first slowly then all at once situation?

Adrenalize, the final word. As we stated before, Adrenalize is a pleasant, harmonic album that plays to Def Leppard's strengths. Those strengths are guitar hooks and great vocals.  Adrenalize's 30th anniversary is next week. In a few months after that comes the 30th anniversary of our high school graduation. For us Adrenalize was a pleasant bit of an otherwise unpleasant time. 

The Critical Drinker (who is always right) talks about George R.R. Martin's inability to finish the Winds of Winter. Reading that, concerned fans of the World War 1990 series are wondering what's happening with The Final Storm. We had hoped to release The Final Storm this summer but...the story just isn't where it needs to be, yet. You people will be getting The Weser this summer instead, followed by The Great Salvation of 1976 which we finished reading yesterday. [But you had a plan-Ed]. What do we say about plans? Fear not. The Final Storm is 70,000 words (and counting). Remember, we spent January and February busting our hump on The Final Storm and will resume the effort...sometime this year. Yes, we know that's worryingly vague. We will have news for the Saturday Update.

What Will's Watching: Bill Maher on Adam Carolla's podcast. Carolla and Maher sit back and have a conversation. While they bash Wokeness, neither strays into actual politics. Maher talks about his life, career and what's happening now. An interesting man, a sensible man with sensible advice on life. We were intrigued by Maher's background story and also his daily routine. Maher has begun his own podcast and his first guest is William Shatner. 4/4

Below, the Friday Flag:

Nuke this Adrenalize Song

 'Hey, Senator, hot down here, isn't it?' Madeline Albright asked John McCain. Madeline Albright was neoliberal-interventionism. The ambassador to the UN and later secretary of state, Albright once asked Colin Powell, 'What's the point of having the world's greatest army if you're not going to use it?' or some such. She was a passionate advocate of the failed Oslo negotiation between Israel and the PLO and constantly advocated 'restraint' as Arafat's* terrorist murdered Israelis.

Click here for this Def Leppard unnamed video. We hate this Adrenalize song so much we won't even name it. The song is stupid and juvenile. The worst song on the album, and the worst song Def Leppard wrote between 1981 and 1992. This song usually makes the live set, sadly. That's when we go get another beer. Reader(s) should watch this live version of White Lightening instead. Note, Def Leppard live sounds pretty much like Def Leppard on the album. 

Bill Roggio, who is much less optimistic about Ukraine than a lot of the media cheerleaders, tweets his latest assessment of the war. 'The Russian advance is slow, but it is advancing,' Roggio says. To our eye, Russia has taken about half of Ukraine east of the Dnieper. Russia is executing large thrusts, successful at the strategic level while the Ukrainians are launching successful localized counterattacks. We remained stunned at Ruski tactical ineptitude. 

We won't comment on events in Russia because we don't know whose info to trust. An anonymously sourced article titled something like, 'Wife mad at Putin over war: report,' or 'Putin advisor tries to resign,' is not to be trusted. And no, we won't ask our KGB handler what he thinks. It's hard to get Russians to talk about anything, and we don't want to put him in an awkward position. Our man in Moscow works for a government publication (like every staffer at NPR or the BBC) and we just don't know what he's comfortable saying. 

Sales of The Great Nuclear War of 1975 have already surpassed books like Seven Stories and A March Through Hell. So 75 is not a flop. Also, 30 + reviews so it doesn't suck. Daily sales are up and down, but we think they'll plateau somewhere below a World War 1990 novel. We had some ju-ju yesterday and should get a scene written in book 3 today. 

*Homosexual. Died of AIDS.